Brexit
The Brief – Don’t forget about the fish
A golden rule in politics is that the most belligerent rhetoric presages a climbdown. As lawmakers in Westminster passed a bill that would break the Withdrawal Agreement with the EU, accompanied with the usual bellicose statements about ‘taking back control’,...
The Brief, powered by amfori – A gamble too far
It’s the wise gambler who knows when his luck is about to run out. Boris Johnson always assumes that his luck is in and, so far, his faith has been rewarded. But his threat to break the Withdrawal Agreement looks like a gamble too far.
Why a deal on energy could break the Brexit logjam
The window for a post-Brexit trade deal is closing fast but the basics are already in place for an agreement on the energy sector, and mutual benefits would be huge, writes Michael Grubb.
Solidarity is needed on EU citizenship as well as on COVID-19
The response by EU leaders to the COVID-19 crisis suggests that solidarity is on the rise. But what about solidarity between Europe’s own citizens, and the 65 million Britons who face losing their rights to EU citizenship? A group of authors provide their thoughts.
The Brief – Poking the Bear
It only took a few short months for the accusation that the 2016 Brexit referendum was rigged, unfair and corrupt to start doing the rounds. This week, Boris Johnson’s government finally published the Parliament’s Intelligence and Security Committee report, which...
The Brief – Global Britain: We’re just not that into EU
As vacuous slogans go, ‘Global Britain’, launched when Theresa May took over Brexit Britain from David Cameron in 2016, has been hard to beat. In 2018, UK lawmakers urged the government to set out what its international partners could expect...
EU-UK cross-border data flows: New digital walls for the economy?
Data needs to continue to flow between the UK and the EU. The EU should limit safeguards to only those needed to protect personal data, writes Andrea Giuricin.
The Brief – Ambition alone won’t pay the EU’s COVID-19 bill
Back in the dog days of 2012 and 2013, even the best friends of Jose Manuel Barroso and Herman van Rompuy – then running the EU show – would have struggled to argue that their EU budget blueprint was ambitious. It was deliberately and consciously timid.
Negotiating a new EU-UK partnership in challenging times
It is now nearly two months since the United Kingdom left the European Union. It left with the legal certainty and clarity provided by the Withdrawal Agreement and the accompanying Political Declaration, writes MEP David McAllister.
Boris Johnson is more focused on Brexit than coronavirus
Boris Johnson's obsession with obtaining a Brexit deal in June has over-ridden the need to act decisively in response to Coronavirus. But the signs of panic are emerging, writes Denis MacShane.
Britons in Europe are disenfranchised while their EU counterparts’ rights hang in the balance
The French municipal elections which will take place on 16 March are the first since President Macron was elected and an important test of his popularity. They are also the first set of municipal elections in which British citizens in France will be unable to vote.
Ireland needs a stable government for the post-Brexit negotiations
The post-Brexit negotiations with the UK are particularly vital for Ireland and dealing with them requires a stable government in office, writes Dick Roche.
Science could become collateral damage of Brexit
A no-deal Brexit at the end of the year, or even a minimal, thin-deal Brexit, with no provision for cooperation on science, innovation and other crucial fields, would deliver a serious blow to economic competitiveness in the UK and the EU, writes Sir Michael Leigh.
Ireland’s political earthquake
Sinn Féin made only one mistake: had it run multiple candidates in its strongest constituencies, it could have become the largest party in the Irish parliament by a long lead, writes Dick Roche.
One-year EU trade deal is fantasy
Prime Minister Boris Johnson would do better to come clean with the electorate on the complexity of the task ahead of negotiating a free trade agreement with the EU, writes Michael Leigh.
Why Brussels shouldn’t be scared of Singapore-on-Thames
Boris Johnson wants to turn the UK into a low-tax, lean-regulation paradise attracting business from the continent. The plan won’t work, writes Joseph de Weck.
No escape from the hostile environment
The UK's offer of settled status to EU citizens may have seemed like a change of tack in its migration policy but there are many causes for anxiety, writes Roger Casale.
Johnson is desperate for an election. So why would his Opponents give him one?
Boris Johnson is desperate to hold a general election, but why should opposition lawmakers give him a poll on his terms, asks Denis MacShane. Denis MacShane is the UK’s former Minister of Europe, and a former Labour MP. In politics...
Ten aspects of the Johnson coup against the UK Parliament
Boris Johnson's prorogation of Parliament may have come as a shock to many but it has stripped away whatever remaining illusions there might have been that the Prime Minister was going to abide by British parliamentary traditions, writes Denis MacShane.
Tory leadership contenders are offering false promises on No Deal
Both Tory leadership contenders are pandering to the idea that a No Deal Brexit will not hurt Britain's future. But when the victor reaches No 10, he will get a shock, writes Dinesh Dhamija.
One million EU citizens were deprived of vote in UK’s European elections
New evidence suggests the Conservative government systematically disenfranchised over 1 million EU citizens and Brits abroad, writes Roger Casale.
Ten lessons for British politics from Peterborough and Strasbourg
All is not what it seems in the UK, after Nigel Farage's Brexit party suffered a major setback in its bid to win a seat in the UK parliament, writes Denis MacShane.
European vote in the UK: Silence is a mistake
Labour and the Tories will be equally to blame for not having challenged Nigel Farage, who is likely to be the big winner of the European elections in the UK, writes Stavros Papagianneas.